The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA-The Community Building at the Walla Walla County Fairgrounds was packed on Monday night with celebrants for the unveiling of the completed Blue Mountain Regional Trails – Ridges, Towns, and Rivers Plan, which features nonmotorized trail connections throughout Columbia and Walla Walla counties, and northeast Umatilla County.

Andrea Weckmueller-Behringer, Executive Director of the Walla Walla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization said, "In 21 planning years I have never seen so many come together to make this happen. This is a truly phenomenal project, a true team effort."

Behringer thanked Mary Campbell and the Community Council for its 2015 report on Enhancing Outdoor Recreation Opportunities, which was the inspiration for the BMRT-RTR Plan.

The overarching goal of the BMRT-RTR Plan is to improve public health, provide for economic growth, and tourism and improve the quality of life, she said.

"And we wanted to get people to those beautiful sights," Behringer added.

Behringer said there were initially just 14 stakeholders involved in the BMRT-RTR Plan. But after receiving a grant for technical assistance from the National Park Service that number morphed to 30 local, regional, state and federal stakeholders.

Two rounds of public workshops were held in various communities throughout the region, the last of which was in Sept., 2017.

"A thousand ideas came in and we tried to find a home for every idea," Behringer said.

Grant applications will begin within the next few weeks in order to tap into the current grant cycle which ends in June.

"We have gotten calls from agencies saying there is money for this," Behringer told the crowd.

Michele Smith

The trail from Dayton to Waitsburg will be among the first implemented.

Community Connection 3, the 9.7 mile walk/bike connection between Waitsburg and Dayton, has been identified in the plan for early implementation "to take place in years one through four".

The plan states: "The estimated cost for the paved walk/bike trail is 3.5 million. Funding can come from a variety of sources including; the US Department of Transportation, the Recreation Trails Program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Economic Development Administration. The managing agency is the Port of Columbia County."

Other trails listed for short-term implementation are the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area – restroom upgrade, and Bluewood – summer activities.

Follow the progress of the BMRT-RTR online at: http://www.bluezonetrails.org